On vegetarianism in the Arab world By Issandr El Amrani I was alerted to Joseph Mayton’s latest piece on vegetarianism in the Arab world — Vegetarianism is not contrary to Arab culture — by Brian Whitaker, who comments further about on the issue in his blog. Both Joey and Brian are vegetarians, and in fact I think Joey is even vegan and certainly very evangelical about his food ethics. I’ve discussed this issue with both of them in the last — only a couple of months ago with Brian in Beirut, as I devoured keba nayeh (spiced raw meat, one of my … Continue reading Vegetarian Arabia

Anwar Al-Awlaki Lectures Imam Anwar Al-Awlaki was born in New Mexico, USA. His parents are from Yemen where he received the early part of his Islamic Education. He has served as an Imam in Colorado, California and Washington DC.He is also the Muslim Chaplain at George Washington University. He holds a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Colorado State University, a M.A. in Education Leadership from San Diego State University and was working on a Doctorate degree in Human Resource Development at George Washington University.Imam Anwar currently resides in Yemen. Imam Anwar is the author of the following series of lectures: … Continue reading Anwar Al-Awlaki Lectures

Abu Bakr al Siddiq : His Life and Times This series of lectures covers the different aspects of the life of Abu Bakr (R.A.), including his life before Islam, during the life of the Prophet Muhammad (P.B.U.H.), and finally during his Khalifah. CD 1 | CD 2 | CD 3 | CD 4 | CD 5 | CD 6 | CD 7 | CD 8 | CD 9 | CD 10 | CD 11 | CD 12 | CD 13 | CD 14 | CD 15 | Continue reading Abu Bakr al Siddiq

The Life of the Prophet Muhammad (Makkan Period) This 16 CD set is an outstanding collection of inspirational talks that introduces the life of Prophet Muhammad, the greatest human being to walk the face of the earth. In these talks, Imam Anwar al-Awlaki, author of the best selling series, The Lives of the Prophets, eloquently presents the Makkan period of the Prophet’s life in a detailed manner, deriving valuable lessons from it and thus making it relevant to our modern times. The series is primarily based on Ibn Kathir’s book on the Sirah. Some of the topics discussed include: The … Continue reading Life of the Prophet Muhammad (with MP3 links)

Plots in Pakistan’s press By Manzoor Ali,  Wearing army fatigues and a red cap, Zaid Hamid is perhaps Pakistan’s best-known television personality. The strategic affairs expert, who coined the term ‘Hindu Zionist’ to describe the hypothetical Indian and Israeli nexus against Pakistan, has become a household name across the country for his conspiracy theories on economic terrorism and Indian-U.S.-Israeli plotting. His Facebook page currently has a following of 66,000, among them students of expensive schools and even pop singers and fashion designers. Whether it is explaining Taliban militancy, Pakistan’s ever-present electricity crisis, Blackwater’s involvement in planning terrorist attacks, or plans … Continue reading Plots against Pakistan

Juhayman’s Sins Nasser Al-Huzeimi: My story with the so-called Mahdi By Khaled Al-Mushawah Published: Saturday 21 November 2009 Updated: Sunday 22 November 2009 Thirty years later, Juhayman’s movement still leaves Saudi and Middle Eastern communities in a state of shock. Accordingly, many have linked modern extremist movements to Juhayman’s thought, while on the other hand many believe that Juhayman was but a man with a naive perception of the state. The Majalla has held an interview with Nasser Al Huezzeimi, the man who refused to pledge allegiance to Al Mahdi and refrained from storming the Holy Mosque. Nasser Al-Huzeimi is … Continue reading Juhayman – Mahdi delusions

When I was growing up as a horny teenage boy (some, of course, swear that I never left that phase) I was a consistent follower of “insert-number-of-choice sexiest women in the world” lists that men’s magazines frequently publish. Be it Maxim, FHM or that online bible AskMen.com, I would always anxiously await their results. Sometimes Jessica Alba took top honors, at other times the crown went to Monica Bellucci. Of course, then there was that sissy People’s magazine list ranking the most good looking folks in the world. Bah. Sitting on my toilet seat the other day, however, I realized … Continue reading Pakistans Top Five Sexiest Mullahs!

Facebook tells me that many of those who like Coke Studio are conformist sheep, really. You know how Facebook has this magnificent suggestions thing going in which it runs its super-smart algorithms to tell you what your friends like, in the hope that you’ll like it too? Well, I decided to play along and see what this was all about after getting annoyed by a constant barrage of suggestions along the lines of “Many of your friends who like Coke Studio also like…” (Yes, I like Coke Studio on Facebook. In my defence, Ali Hamza is irresistibly cute and my … Continue reading What cokestudio fans want

Learning to grow paradise from a seed Grade 3 at the vegetable patch besides an iceberg lettuce plant. Vacations are coming to an end and that means another year of productive farming can begin! Teaching gardening to young people is rewarding on many levels.The best part is that you get paid to practice your hobby. I can proudly say that I belong to a team that are the pioneers of teaching gardening at the school level. It was the combined effort of Ms Sabrina Dawood and Mr Tofiq Pasha Mooraj to introduce gardening as a subject and to spread the awareness about the environment.  For me, … Continue reading Paradise from a seed

Musharraf expected to return in September Shahbaz also disclosed the merger of the All Pakistan Muslim League and PML-Q in the days ahead. LAHORE: Former president Pervez Musharraf is expected to announce his election manifesto in September on his return to the country. This was announced by All Pakistan Muslim League Chief Coordinator Chaudhry Shahbaz during a press conference at the Lahore Press Club on Sunday. He said the former president will face all charges against him, adding that the government is even free to probe Nawab Akbar Bugti’s assassination and the Lal Mosque carnage. Shahbaz also disclosed the merger … Continue reading Musharraf due in Pakistan this September